


The Things That We Don't Say

by jordahparrish



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Angst, Jace isn't, Kidnapping, Like don't be put off by the beginning, M/M, Please Don't Kill Me, Read until the end, So much angst, Valentine is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 01:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8125711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jordahparrish/pseuds/jordahparrish
Summary: Magnus is left heartbroken on what is supposed to be his and Alec's three month anniversary celebration. After the bad news he has to find a way to cope, even if it means going to the alternate world.





	

Magnus had set everything up perfectly, the table was set so he and Alec would sit side by side rather than facing each other - he always preferred something about that set up, it meant he could be comfortable with the Shadowhunter. He put some music on quietly, more for the ambience. He placed a candle on the table and smiled.

He and Alec had been dating for three months now and it was time they celebrated their short time together. 

As he heard footsteps approaching, he waved his hand so that two plates of a full meal appeared - he didn’t pay too much attention to what it was, insteed he turned to the door with a smile on his face. He was ready to welcome Alec with a hug and possibly several kisses.

It wasn’t Alec, but instead a rather broken looking Izzy.

Her hair was messy and knotted, the leather pants she was wearing had several tears, her shirt was also ripped. Magnus could see cuts over her body. He rushed to her instantly, as he approached her, he could see she was crying.

“Izzy? What’s wrong?”

“A-Alec.”

Magnus’s heart dropped, he held Izzy’s shoulders, trying to keep her steady. 

“He’s gone Magnus, we… We were f-fighting demons and… One got him. He tried to... To survive but-”

“He…” Magnus fell back away from Izzy, he turned around to look at the table he had set out. He waved his hand and everything he had set up disappeared, “he’s gone?”

”I’m sorry, we were going to call you but he said not to, he said he’d be fine.”

Magnus held his hand to his lips, thinking about the last time Alec kissed him - when he was smiling and laughing.

_“I’m sorry I’ve got to go, but hey, I’ll be here tomorrow,” Alec gave a small half smile, the cute one he always did for Magnus._

_“Of course, you wouldn’t miss our three month celebration,” Magnus was tutting in response, he began to fiddle with one of his rings, as Alec stepped away to leave Magnus grabbed his hand, “wait! This might seem soppy… But,” he slipped off one of his rings, a small one that resembled a snake, “take this, wear it even, it’s a good luck charm for you.”_

_Alec looked down at the ring as it was placed in his hand, “I don’t think it will fit,” he pulled a face and watched Magnus snap his fingers._

_In the next moment, Magnus was holding a chain to his hand, “then wear it as a necklace, like the one you gave me,” he shrugged and took the ring, he slipped it onto the chain and waved his hand at Alec. Alec got the message and turned away from Magnus. Magnus reached up and placed the necklace around Alec’s neck. Magnus gave Alec a small smile, “come back to me.”_

_“I will,” Alec nodded as he clutched the ring on the necklace, “I… I l- Thank you.”_

_“For?”_

_“For being so… Magnus,” Alec leaned down and pressed his lips against Magnus’s, it was a quick and sweet kiss, after a moment Alec pulled away again, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”_

_“You better!”_

Magnus never thought those would have been his last words to Alec, never. 

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Magnus said simply, he couldn’t look back at Izzy, he couldn’t bring himself to see the girl so broken, “you… you should probably go comfort your family, they’ll need you right now.”

“Magnu-”

“Izzy please, I’ll cope better alone,” he glanced over his shoulder and watched as Izzy nodded and left the room, “I always have.”

“Maybe you have… But I’ve always gone to Alec to cope - you’re the closest thing I have to him now.”

By the time Magnus had turned back, Izzy had ran out of the room, obviously upset about Magnus not wanting her there. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, “why did this have to happen, to Alec?”

“Sometimes the most treasured are easily lost,” Magnus recognised the voice straight away, he opened his eyes to see Ragnor sat in one of his chairs. Well, the ghost of Ragnor, “and those we despise last longer, the world is cruel Magnus, you know this.”

“Of all the people I’ve loved, nobody has been like Alec.”

“Young, beautiful, naive-”

“Brave, pure, precious,” Magnus cut Ragnor off and then slowly moved over to his sofa, he fell down at stared at Ragnor, “he was mine, Ragnor, when I first met him I thought-”

“It’s meant to be,” Ragnor teased Magnus in a singsong voice.

“It’s no joke Ragnor, we held hands when we were summoning the demon and I felt a jolt.”

“Because when you’re summoning a demon, you regularly feel the power of the demon before it’s actually summoned - honestly, Magnus.”

“Ragnor, I believe I found my soulmate that day, you know the strange theories there has been in the past, remember Adeus? She first saw colour when she met that woman… Kiana?”

“Because Kiana was a warlock who granted Adeus with the ability to see colours. Kiana made her believe that their first meeting was magical.”

Magnus pulled a face, “that story became less romantic and more possessive.”

“Never use Adeus and Kiana as a reference of love, it’s outdated and… unhealthy.”

Magnus let a small smile form, “I think... This is so strange Ragnor, I’ve never experienced hurt like this before. Not even when Camille…”

“You loved him, and he loved you. You knew he wouldn’t willingly break your heart.”

“Even if he is gone, I still love him.”

Ragnor nodded, he stood up from the seat and moved over to Magnus. He set a cold hand on Magnus’s shoulder and smiled softly at his old friend, “I know you do.”

***

Magnus hadn’t been coping well at all, he found himself barely able to leave his house for almost a month. He was almost motionless until he began plotting. He knew how he could see Alec again, without breaking the laws of life. 

He had to find Meliorn.

Magnus wasn’t a particular fan of that specific seelie, but he could work with him if it meant he could see the man he loved once more. 

It was in the middle of the night when he thought of it, it was almost like a vision in his sleep. The portal. He could see the swirls of colour. He had to go through the portal to the alternate world.

He jumped out of his bed and ran from his house, barely even caring about what he was dressed in, by the time he was out of the building he had managed to wave his hand and throw on an entirely new outfit.

He tracked the Seelies easily, then headed straight to Meliorn. 

The Seelie was wide awake, moving slowly and calmly around his room - like a mundane on some high. 

“Magnus Bane,” Meliorn spoke, without even turning around to see him, “what can I help you with?”

“I don’t suppose Izzy told you about-”

“Alexander, yes, she did.”

Magnus nodded and glanced around the Seelie’s home, “well, I want to… Visit the alternate dimension, the one Clary went to.”

Meliorn raised an eyebrow as he spun around to see Magnus, “Oh you do?”

“Please Meliorn, I need to see him again.”

“At what price?”

“I have many ancient artefacts at my home, you can have any of them.”

Meliorn gave Magnus a sly grin, “perhaps more than artefacts, Bane. Nature treats me with plenty artefacts, artefacts that are more precious than your meaningless memorabilia.”

Magnus winced, he moved back from Meliorn but then let out a sigh, “then take something that means the most to me,” he looked into Meliorn’s eyes and slowly held his hand to his chest, he then reached down his shirt and pulled out a necklace, “Alec gave me to this not too long ago, it was the first real… sign of affection between us.”

Meliorn looked into Magnus’s eye and held out his hand, “perhaps this could work.”

“It may not be worth much but it’s worth more than anything else I have. Take it before I change my mind!”

Meliorn snatched the necklace from Magnus’s grasp and examined it, “it certainly is… Charming.”

Magnus would have fallen to his knees right there and then to beg for the portal, he needed it, after Meliorn gave a small smile Magnus knew that his wish would come true. Meliorn gently placed the necklace in a drawer and then moved to Magnus, he waved a hand and walked away.

* 

Magnus felt as though they had been walking for a while, he would have just asked Meliorn if they could portal to the portal but he knew Meliorn would insist on not disturbing the peace. He kept silent as they walked, thoughts of Alec ran through his mind. Was he as gentle and quiet as his Alec? Did he have the same dorky half smile when Magnus made a crude joke? How was he dealing with his life and his family? 

“We are here,” Meliorn stopped Magnus and gave him a small smile, “so, step back, I’ll open the portal.”

“Thank you,” Magnus quickly nodded and stepped away from Meliorn, he watched the Seelie focus on the portal. The two weren’t all that different in the end, Magnus could see that.

Not too long after starting, Meliorn had finished the portal. 

”Go, but remember to look for the differences, focus on them. Don’t let yourself slip into the alternate you.”

“Right,” Magnus understood easily, he walked towards the portal and flashed a smile to Meliorn before jumping through it.

***

Magnus was in a place similar to his own, just decorated slightly differently. He knew it must have been his place. He moved from the bed and slowly stood up, he had to take in his new surroundings slowly and find the differences. He was looking for something when he heard footsteps, he spun around and saw Alec approaching him for the doorway. Alec, in nothing but sweatpants. 

Alec without any runes. Magnus had of course seen Alec without a shirt before but to see Alec in his bedroom only in sweatpants was a new experience.

Magnus struggled to breathe as he stared at Alec, he looked slightly different than how Magnus remembered him in his own world.

“Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Alec almost scoffed as he approached Magnus, “oh, is it one of those Warlock premonition things?” Alec let out a chuckle and moved closer to Magnus, “now, do I have to rip your shirt off myself or are you going to like… Click your fingers and make it disappear?”

“Wh-what?” So even if this Alec was a mundane, he knew about Magnus’s abilities. Perhaps he had explained it to him in the past, perhaps that was how much he trusted him. 

Alec let out a small chuckle and leaned down, he gently pressed his lips against Magnus’s neck and slowly moved down to his collar bone, “you heard me, honey.”

Magnus knew Alec to be awkward, and he had never heard Alec say the word honey. He shook his head and then flashed a small smile to Alec, “it’s up to you.”

Alec ran his hands around Magnus’s waist, he pressed their bodies together and looked down at Magnus with a grin, “you are so adorable, you know that? Especially right now, you’re so flustered and confused.”

”You’re… Gorgeous.”

Alec let out a loud laugh and pressed a kiss against Magnus’s forehead, “so about that shirt.”

“Right, right,” Magnus fumbled with the shirt he was wearing, he quickly pulled it off and smiled at the taller boy, “wait, why am I taking my shirt off?”

Alec’s laughter was more of a snort this time around, he pulled Magnus towards the bed and fell backwards. He shifted so that he was sat with Magnus straddling his lap, “because I thought you wanted to try a different time of day.”

“Different time?”

Alec shook his head, still laughing, he lied back on the bed and gently tugged Magnus down, “’late morning mess around’,” he pressed his lips against Magnus’s jawline. 

The warlock shot back up.

“Alec I can’t.”

“You said you wanted to,” Alec laughed, “last night, ‘Alec lets have sex tomorrow morning, I’m too tired right now.’”

“I… I change my mind.”

Alec let Magnus climb off of him, he sat up and raised an eyebrow, “is something wrong?”

“It just feels wrong, like I’m cheating-”

”Woah, cheating?” Alec stood up and glared down at the warlock, “cheating… on me?”

Magnus shook his head quickly, “n-no, no I’m not I swear.”

“Well then why would you say that?”

“Because-”

Alec let out a scoff, not letting Magnus continue. He moved towards the door quickly but Magnus chased after him.

“I’m not your Magnus!”

Alec turned and gave him a disgusted look, “what are you on about?”

“I’m from an alternate universe, an alternate Magnus. I’m in your Magnus’s body.”

“Right…”

“It’s true,” Magnus almost whimpered as he spoke, “I’m Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. In our world… There are Shadowhunters-”

“You said about that before,” Alec held up his hand, “well… my you did. Shadowhunters, you told me about Clary’s switch. But how can I be sure it’s really you and not my you?”

“How am I supposed to prove that to you?”

“Do something my Magnus would never do.”

“I don’t know what your Magnus is like!” Magnus snapped, he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, which made Alec let out a small chuckle.

“Okay, you’re not my you. My you is too careful to snap at me like that.”

“How do you know that I’m a warlock? And about Clary’s switch?”

“My you trusts me with everything,” Alec turned soft and a sweet smile played on his face, “I wish I was as trusting as you.”

Magnus smiled up at the alternate Alec, “Alexander, I’m here because… My Alec… He died. He’s never going to come back.”

Alec stared at Magnus with wide eyes, “you… I am? Well, he is? I’m so sorry-”

“It’s okay, well it’s not but…”Magnus trailed off, he let out a sigh and tried not to cry, “I can survive, maybe.”

“So you came here…”

“To see you, to hold you again.”

Alec gave a small smile and held out his arm, “hold me then, hold me and don’t let go until you want to.”

Magnus rushed toward Alec, he wrapped his arms around the taller boy. He pressed his head against Alec’s chest and stood in silence, it was warm and welcome. He didn’t want to move. He could stay there for years, in Alec’s arms, with Alec in his. He didn’t want to let go of him, for a moment he thought he never would. 

He felt at home, as though he was in the right place.

Magnus backed away suddenly, if he stayed there for two long he would merge into the other Magnus - surely he couldn’t leave all of his responsibilities behind. 

Or could he? 

He looked to Alec again, he gave him a small smile.

”Would I be happier if I let myself cease to exist in the other universe?” 

“You serve a purpose in the other universe that isn’t about me, don’t you?”

”I… I suppose.”

“I’m not the only one you need to count on, look I like you, but I like my you.”

Alec stepped closer to Magnus and leaned down to place a quick kiss. Magnus wanted it to last for longer than it did, but Alec pulled away when a girl ran into the room. It took Magnus a moment, but he finally realised who the girl was.

Izzy. Izzy with braided hair, glasses and clothes that looked like they belonged to Simon.

“Magnus, I have to talk to you.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea Izzy,” Alec shrugged to his sister, it was obvious that he was trying to stop her from talking to the wrong Magnus. 

“Magnus, I have to talk to you about… Parabatai!”

Alec raised an eyebrow, “bless you?”

“Izzy, it’s you, my Izzy,” Magnus began to chuckle as he ran over to the girl.

“Wait so you guys can just, inhabit our body at any time?”

Izzy sadly looked over to Alec, “you know?”

“I told him, I had to,” Magnus admitted, “well technically his me told him not me me.”

Izzy quickly pushed past Magnus and admired the taller boy, she gave him a sad smile and held her hand against his cheek, “you look so different.”

“So do you,” Magnus commented to Izzy.

Izzy leaned up and pressed a kiss on her brother’s cheek, “I miss you so much.”

Alec returned a smile, he nodded to the girl, “sorry, why were you here?”

“Right, Magnus, Meliorn sent me to check you are coming back, he had a concerning feeling about you. He thought you might be tempted to stay.”

Magnus pulled a face, “that Seelie knows his stuff, I did think about it. However, I’ve changed my mind. This is Alec but this isn’t… My Alec. What’s the point in staying when everything here is different?”

Izzy gave Magnus a small smile, “we should go back, Meliorn said he was struggling to keep the portal open.”

“Right, right,” Magnus moved closer to Alec again, he cupped his cheek in his hand and let out a small chuckle, “thank you Alec, for everything.”

“You’re welcome, I hope everything works out for you - and trust me, your me would want you to move on and be happy.”

***

Magnus and Izzy stumbled back through the portal, both with proud smiles on their faces. Magnus felt good to be back in his own body.

Izzy had an arm around Magnus’s shoulder, she gave him a hug as they continued to walk. Meliorn waved his hands and the portal disappeared, he dropped his hands and moved towards the pair.

“Did you do what you wished to?”

“I did,” Magnus nodded, “I saw him again, but… He wasn’t my Alec.”

Meliorn stepped forward and gently tapped Magnus’s back, “things will always be different. I believe you will find your love again, Magnus, you’ll find him soon.”

Magnus simply raised an eyebrow at the Seelie, Izzy gently pulled Magnus away from Meliorn. They began their journey back home, Magnus didn’t know whether they were headed to the Institute or his own apartment, but he knew he would follow Izzy wherever she went - he needed her.

***

Jace watched as the scruffy and burly men left the room, as if they were foolish enough to leave him with their prisoner. Of course, the son of Valentine mustn’t be a traitor to the man, but Jace knew he would also never betray the Lightwoods. He looked down at the figure on the floor and slowly approached the person. He knew who it was, he could hear sobbing, sobbing he had heard on rare occasions. 

He crouched down by the person and set a hand on his back.

“Alec. It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.”

Alec glared up at Jace and choked on another sob, “won’t you?”

“Never. Look… My father has… He managed to fake your death in front of Izzy, everyone thinks you’re dead.”

“What?”

Jace gave his brother a sympathetic smile, “he didn’t tell me what he did, but he said that he faked your death, apparently they uh… Had a funeral.”

Alec pressed his lips together, “b-but…”

“Alec I don’t agree with my father, I don’t know what he wants to do with you,” Jace glanced around the room. He stood up straight and reached into his pocket, “well, whatever you do-”

Alec heard something hit the ground in front of him, he looked over to see his Stele inches away from him.

“Don’t use your stele to escape, nope, don’t do that whilst I have my back turned,” Jace spoke effortlessly as he looked away from his brother, he hummed to himself as Alec reached for the Stele. 

Jace didn’t turn back until he heard Alec stumble back onto his feet.

Jace gave him a quick flash of a smile and then held up his hands and quietly whimpered, “oh no, don’t hit me, whatever you do, don’t put up a fight,” he pointed to his face and waited for Alec to attack. The taller boy did nothing but cock his head to the side. Jace rolled his eyes, “hit me, you dork.”

“Jace… No.”

“Make it look like I actually tried to stop you from escaping.”

“R-right,” Alec nodded, he then ran forward and threw his fist against Jace’s face, after that punch he kicked out his leg and struck Jace in the stomach making the blond fall back. Alec was about to run for the door when Jace spoke again.

“N-no, whatever you do, don’t go to the door at the back of the room that secretly leads to the tunnel system. Oh, and Alec? Get to your weapons as soon as you can, you’ll need them.”

Alec turned and saw a door that was somewhat hidden by a shelving unit. Alec ran over to it, he turned back to give Jace a quick smile and darted through the door. He had to remember to thank Jace fully the next time he saw him.

If there was a next time.

Among the commotion with Jace, Alec had forgotten about the pain in his left leg, but as he began to run through the tunnel system, the pain returned. When Valentine’s men had caught him, they had practically almost broken his leg. He gasped at the sudden sensation through his leg and collapsed to the ground, perhaps running wasn’t the best idea before healing.

He pushed himself back up and leaned back against the wall of the tunnel, he ran his Stele over his Iratze rune and waited for a moment, finally he felt the pain disappear. 

“Thank God,” he mumbled and quickly continued to run through the tunnel, he didn’t want to stop again, someone could come after him at any point. He continued to run through the tunnels, only stopping again to figure out where he should go. To the Institute or to Magnus?

No, he had to see Izzy and Max first, that should have been obvious. And perhaps he should also let his parents know ‘hey, I’m alive by the way.’

He suddenly thought, hadn’t Valentine left on some ship before? That’s where he was caught by Valentine’s men. Why would they be back in Brooklyn with the tunnel system?

Unless…

Jace had told Alec to get to his weapon as soon as possible. 

He may have been in pain a second beforehand but in the next moment he found himself running again, he could get back to the institute easily.

***

By the time Alec was outside the Institute, it was dark. He could tell Valentine hadn’t attacked yet, he slowed down as he felt safe. That changed when he heard footsteps approaching, in silence he moved to the side and hoped he could stay hidden. He could probably attack whoever it was from behind - it wouldn’t be that hard, would it?

The footsteps came closer, Alec knew he looked a mess in that moment but that didn’t stop him from being able to defend against an attacker. He could see the glow of a seraph blade headed towards him - perhaps he wouldn’t make it after all. 

He had one chance to attack whilst he could, he jumped out prepared fight but instead came face to face with a pair he recognised, the pair began screaming at the sight. It was Izzy and Magnus, screeching in shock. 

Alec held his finger to his mouth, “sh, sh, it’s okay.”

“Alec, but… I saw you-” Izzy began to panic, she looked between Magnus (who was now already in tears) and her brother.

“I didn’t, Valentine faked my death so that you guys would be busy in mourning… Too busy to be prepared for an attack. Get inside, we need to be safe, get everyone ready.”

Izzy nodded and quickly hugged her brother, Alec thought he’d never feel anyone hug him tighter - he was wrong of course when Magnus darted forward and squeezed him into a hug.

“I thought- I really thought-”

Magnus couldn’t continue, in fact he was just sobbing against Alec’s chest. Izzy had taken that moment to run back into the Institute squealing about Alec being back.

“I know Magnus, I know, now come on we have to get inside,” he pulled the warlock towards to Institute, supporting him as though he would collapse if he let him go. As they entered the Institute, Alec heard several gasps of ‘she isn’t delusional’ and ‘he really is alive’, perhaps the most heartbreaking moment Alec had ever encountered was seeing Max run through the Institute screaming, his face was as red as the highlights in Magnus’s hair. He didn’t stop running until he collided into his older brother, in that moment Alec knew that Max must have been non-stop sobbing, his cheeks were soaked with tears.

“You’re real, you’re here,” Max sobbed as he clung onto Alec’s leg, “don’t ever leave me again Alec, please don’t.”

“I won’t Maxxie,” Alec spoke gently, he crouched down to the boy’s height after letting go of Magnus’s waist, “I’m here,” he ruffled Max’s hair and then pressed a kiss on the young boy’s forehead, “I’m here.”

Max began to sob again, Alec quickly wrapped his arms around the small boy, he hated seeing Max upset. He especially hated Max being upset because of death, because of his death. Alec easily scooped Max into his arms and continued to hold him close.

“I’m here for you little brother,” he whispered as Max clung onto him.

Magnus gave Alec a soft smile, “I guess I didn’t miss you the most,” he let out a quiet laugh and placed a hand on Max’s back, “he’s here Maxxie, he’s here,” he turned to Alec and placed a hand on the Shadowhunter’s cheek, he suddenly paused, “w-wait, how do we know this isn’t a trick?”

Alec rolled his eyes, “I, Alexander Gideon Lightwood, missed my three month anniversary with my boyfriend because I was kidnapped - in fact I’m pretty sure I missed our four months too, how long was I actually gone? Not enough information? Okay, I fell asleep in your lap when you were playing with my hair one day, and who else would know to hug Maxxie like this?” He winked to Magnus and continued to hold his younger brother, who seemed to be relaxing in the hold.

“Well that’s all very-”

“My necklace!” Alec rushed to put Max back onto the ground, he then reached down his shirt and pulled out the next that still had Magnus’s ring attached to it, “you gave this to me, before I left, I had promised you I’d be back the next day,” Alec was grinning, he lunged forward and kissed Magnus. A deep kiss much more like their first kiss than their almost final kiss.

They pulled back from the kiss and Magnus let a sly smile show up on his face, “oh, it’s definitely you.”

Alec scoffed out somewhat of a laugh, “obviously.”

The pair jumped as Max began to applaud them, Alec glanced down at his younger brother and quickly scooped him up again.

”Izzy always spoke about you two, what happened at the wedding,” Max frowned, “when we thought you were dead, she cried and told me how you had been so happy on that day, even if you didn’t marry Lydia like you had planned.”

As if on cue, a group ran through the Institute led by Lydia. Clary, Izzy, Luke and Jocelyn. 

“Alec!” Lydia let out a sigh of relief and ran forward to hug her ex-fiance (who was still holding his younger brother), “you’re okay.”

“I am.”

“I never thought I’d be this happy to see you,” Clary commented with a joking grin, she let out a giggle and joined in with the hugging of Alec, “would you believe that I cried?”

“Yeah, you’re weak like that,” Alec shrugged as a joke, “Izzy, where are mom and dad?”

“The office, I… I didn’t tell them yet.”

He once again placed Max on the floor and was shocked to feel both Luke and Jocelyn bring him in for a hug.

“Where have you been?” Jocelyn asked, “Izzy didn’t get to tell us, she was too busy screaming with joy.”

Alec cleared his throat, “I uh… Valentine had me.”

“How did you get out?” Luke raised an eyebrow, “did he just let you walk out?”

“He didn’t, but Jace did. The thing is they’re no longer on that ship of theirs, they’re in a building in Brooklyn. I think they want to attack whilst everyone’s still in mourning, then you’d be less focused.”

Lydia pressed her lips together and glanced around the Institute, “when are they attacking?”

“Possibly tonight, so everyone needs to be ready, it could come at any moment,” Alec began to move towards the weapons but Clary stopped him.

“If he thinks we’re in mourning, perhaps you should hide for a while,” she raised an eyebrow, “then we can give you a signal or something, and you can jump out like ‘surprise bitch!’” Clary only paused to look at her mother who had raised an eyebrow at her daughter, “then that would distract them!”

“We have to be tactical, everyone get your weapons ready. Clary, call Simon, ask him to get Raphael and others. I’ll get Alaric and the pack ready.”

Alec rushed over to the weapons as the group began to organise a defence party, He looked for his bow and quiver but was shocked to see no archery equipment at all.

“Izzy, where’s my bow?”

Izzy approached her brother and pressed her lips together, “well, you see, we returned to get your body but it had gone and your bow and arrow were left so… They were in some ways a replacement of your body.”

“My bow and quiver… are in Idris?”

“Yeah.”

Magnus quickly moved over to the brother and sister, “no worries Alec, I can sort that out for you, how about a brand new bow and quiver?” 

Alec watched as Magnus managed to produce a bow and a quiver full of arrows in front of him with just a wave of his hands. The new bow wasn’t too different to Alec’s old bow, he reached out for it but Magnus held out a hand to stop him.

“A little personalisation never hurt,” he waved his hand again, Alec saw that the quiver now had ‘A.L’ engraved in the side of it and the bow itself had ‘Alec Lightwood’ etched on it.

Alec gave Magnus a smile, he quickly gave Magnus a kiss on the cheek, “thank you, I love you.”

Magnus felt his breath hitch, it was the first time he had heard Alec say those words. Not too long after, he managed to regain his posture and ability to speak, “I love you too!”

Alec grabbed his new bow and quiver, “I’ll be in my room, give me a signal when you’re ready for the surprise.”

“I’ll make sure to lead either Valentine or some of his men towards your room, when I shout ‘adios dirtbag’, that’s the signal.”

Alec gave a nod and ran through to his room, he thought about stopping by the office to see his parents, he even stopped by the door prepared to walk in. The door was open ajar but his parents couldn’t tell he was outside of it, he knew because they were talking about him. Of course they still thought he was dead, they mustn’t have heard anything at all then.

“The plus side, Robert, is that we don’t have to be involved with that Warlock anymore, he has no reason to be involved with us now that Alec is gone.”

“Should we really be speaking like this Maryse? When our own son is dead?” Alec could tell his father was more upset than his mother just by his voice.

“It’s been over a month now! We have to start thinking of the positives. No more ridiculous relationship between him and that warlock. People won’t judge us now that our gay son is dead, they’ll pity us and let us stay head of the New York Institute.”

Alec quickly threw the door open, “well sorry, your dead gay son was never dead,” he hissed towards his mother. She paled as she looked at him, her mouth dropped open and it looked as though she had forgotten to breathe, “what positives do you possibly have about your son being dead? You shouldn’t have any!” Alec scoffed and rolled his eyes, “now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go prepare for an attack, if you come face to face with Valentine or his men, pretend I’m still dead -I’m sure you’d be happy to.”

Alec turned away and ran into his own room, he shut the door behind him and stayed in silence, it felt good to be in the comfort of his own bedroom again. He made his way over to his bed and sat down. Now all he had to do was wait. 

***

_“ADIOS DIRTBAG!”_

Alec heard Izzy screech from outside his door. He stumbled onto his feet and grabbed his new bow and quiver. He ran out of the door and grinned as he came face to face with Valentine himself. 

“Surprised?”

Valentine narrowed his eye at Alec, “you! But Jace…”

“I left your traitor son for dead,” Alec lied through his teeth, he held up his bow and was ready to shoot an arrow at the man.

Valentine glared at Alec and backed up. Just in time, Jocelyn appeared behind Valentine, she grabbed his arm that held his seraph blade and managed to get him to lose his grip of the blade. She then brought her own seraph blade to his neck, “whatever you plan to do here, Val, you need to stop. You won’t win. Either run back to our son and make sure he stays alive, or continue to fight here and let him die.”

Valentine simply laughed, “that’s fine with me, he’s not our real son anyway.”

Alec dropped his bow to his side in shock. He looked to Izzy who was stood by his side, equally in shock.

“You don’t think I know that,” Jocelyn whispered, “I’ve seen pictures of Jace, of course he’s not my son.”

Valentine was suddenly the one who was confused, “how did you know?”

“Jonathan’s eyes were blue, but they were an evil. I’ve seen pictures of Jace and his eyes are too kind to be Jonathan’s.”

Valentine scowled and tried to escape from Jocelyn but she kept a hold of him.

“Jace isn’t my brother,” Izzy and Alec jumped as Clary appeared behind them, Alec had no clue how she had got there so quietly.

“Mom, why didn’t you say?”

“I had to be sure,” Jocelyn answered, she released Valentine. The small group began to circle him, each ready with their weapons.

***

They didn’t kill Valentine, they didn’t even capture him, he managed to get away when some of his men attacked the group. Fortunately nobody at the Institute had been hurt by the attack. After checking that everyone was fine, and only glaring at his parents, Alec decided he had to get Jace back.

He grouped together with Magnus, Izzy, Clary, Simon, Luke, Jocelyn and even Lydia and Raj. He led them back the way he had escaped. It wasn’t too long of a journey, but that didn’t mean that Alec didn’t get irritated by Simon gushing ‘I can’t believe you didn’t die, that’s so awesome that you’re still here’. 

Eventually Alec had brought them to the point in the tunnel system where he had stopped to heal his leg. He looked around and knew it wasn’t too far. He ran towards the door that Jace had pointed him to when he made his escape. Quietly he pushed the door slightly, he held his hand up to make sure the others stayed quiet. He peeked through the gap, it was the right room. He could see it was the same, he was surprised that he heard something that was am mix of shaky breathing and crying. He rushed into the room and saw Jace hunched over in the corner. His ankles and wrists were tied together, just like Alec’s had been before.

Alec ran over to him, the group flooded in behind him. Alec knew they were making sure they were safe in the room. 

Alec crouched down in front of Jace and gently lifted the boy’s head, “Jace?”

“H-he left me, Alec, he left me here.”

“What?”

“They all left,” Jace whimpered.

“It’s okay Jace,” Alec began to untie Jace’s restraints. He looked over to his side as Jocelyn crouched down next to him.

“Jace, listen-”

“Mom?” Jace looked up at Jocelyn.

“No, no, I’m not your mother Jace. Valentine isn’t your father, it was a sick lie.”

Jocelyn continued to explain everything to Jace, Alec could only watch as the boy broke even more than he had before. Once again, he was left somewhat clueless about his family. After a while, Alec pulled Jace up and supported him to the tunnel.

“You’re with us now Jace,” Izzy gently spoke as she followed her brothers closely, “you’re safe again.”

“Both of you are,” Magnus smiled as he looked at both Jace and Alec.

***

The Institute was of course once again buzzing with excitement and curiosity. Alec was alive, Valentine had somewhat disappeared and now Jace was back, who knew what could happen next. 

All Magnus knew was that he was happy to have Alec back, and they may have missed their three month anniversary celebration but they could celebrate the fact that Magnus was still alive and that they were together again. 

Once Magnus had Alec in his home, he set up a mock up of the third anniversary dinner plan.

“Welcome home, my beloved angel,” he cooed to Alec as the taller boy walked in.

“Why thank you, my personal angel,” Alec replied in a soft voice. 

Alec leaned down to kiss Magnus on the cheek but Magnus turned his head to catch the kiss on his lips. Magnus had no intention to pull away from the kiss anytime soon, he never wanted to let Alec leave him ever again. He silently promised himself to never let Alec go into battle without him. 

No matter what, Magnus would stay with him.

He promised.

**Author's Note:**

> 'Major Character Death' - or not. Sorry I had to tease you with that tag.


End file.
